Jealousy
by bluejay
Summary: With any new addition to a family, there are almost always instances of jealousy; and the team as well as the JLA will have to cope. Sequel to "Brotherhood".
1. Wally

Notes: Sequel to "Brotherhood" simply because there were some things that needed to be explained...okay, okay! And because of public demand I went ahead and made this. Anyway, two things: a) I managed to avoid too-short chapters; the short ones will be around the same length as this one's and b) you will be happy to note that yes, this fic is finished and I'm already researching for the next sequel (I've got two more plotted out). Next chapter will come in a couple of weeks. Let this be a sort of teaser for all you folks who're waiting for this sequel ;)

To the final reviewers of "Brotherhood":

Bethlovesall: Much thanks! As for Talia's reasons for letting Damian go, that will be explained in the next sequel. So yes, I have two more fics in line for this series.

Dextra2, CosmicEssence and jayfeather63: What can I say, sweet family interactions always make me smile, especially the Dick and Damian dynamic.

Night Hawks and Reading Nut Cassirole: Thank you :) I'm glad you liked my fic.

mizamoomoo: Well then, I hope I will still be able to make your weeks with this sequel as well as the other two I'm working on after this ;)

Basically Run: Hahaha too bad I can't draw very well. Anyway, I guess I have a tendency to think 'visually' so expect a few more mental images scattered around.

Viet Devil: I can only think of two other fics with YJa!Dick and Damian bonding off the top of my head. So I hope you'll like what I've got in store in this fic.

nancydrewgirl, FuzzyBee013, WindStar, Unleash The Shadow, Jadeyuy and Queen of Happy: As I've said, I have two more sequels in progress after this. Expect more soon ;)

Reina Grayson and KaliAnn: Thanks, I was trying to expand more but the fic just refused to grow any longer.

Mirror's Mirage: I'm glad you think so. I don't really like reading fics wherein I can't recognize the characters anymore so I keep as close to the canon as I could.

BirdBoyB01: I don't mind your not reviewing the other chapters. As long as I get a note that says you liked what I wrote, I'm happy :) As for Dick being replaced, well, there's very little chance of that since I love Dick Grayson hehehe. Maybe if he grows out of the Robin role ;)

And that's it for the review responses. Now on with the fic!

* * *

"Come on, KF! Stop playing around and shoot him!" Dick complained from his sprawl over the couch, chin in one hand, legs in the air, and a controller loosely held in the other hand. He was a picture of acrobatic relaxation - anyone else would have suffered back pain if they stayed too long in his position but not him. Nope; to the Boy Wonder, gravity or having a backbone is a privilege and not a fact of life. And as if to taunt him, Dick lazily waved his legs back and forth as he watched Wally's progress through the North Wing.

And sitting right beside his best friend, Wally hunched forward over his own controller, eyes intent on the mostly dark screen in front of them. Once in a while, a malformed creature would jump out of the shadows and attack, making him twitch in reaction a split-second before the surround speakers exploded in gunfire.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" he whined as the screen began scrolling forward again. He shot a sideways glance at his best friend, sure that Dick was hacking into the game to make his progress slower because honestly! How can _anyone _get through this level in three minutes flat? "Dammit Robs, I can't shoot him if I can't find him! Where the heck is the green alien dude?"

"In the last place you look, obviously."

"Hardy har har. Y'know, it's only because you stop looki-whoa!" Wally jerked left as the green behemoth erupted into the screen from the right. A quick succession of buttons had him twisting around to open fire on the behemoth. "Eat laser, Vorstak!" he cried gleefully, the speakers again bursting with gunfire.

"Aim for the neck, Kid Idiot." Dick advised gamely. "The Szarak's weakness is the extra airways on their neck."

"Dude, you're the only one I know who'd research a game like it was your next case!" Wally retorted, keeping his eyes on the screen as he shot and evaded the behemoth's claws simultaneously.

"I just don't like spending hours figuring out what to do next unless it was one of those puzzle games." Wally didn't see him, but it was obvious from Dick's tone of voice that he'd just rolled his eyes. And Wally really should have known this was a standard tactic for his best friend - what with the very little free time allotted to the Boy without the Wonder, Dick had taken to taking a few shortcuts here and there. Game research is just one of them.

"Figuring it out is part of the fun, y'know." Wally pointed out, not at all offended that his best friend would give gaming advice. The two of them barely hung around with each other recently and he was determined that their present game time wouldn't go to waste. His attention was grabbed when the behemoth on the screen suddenly lurched forward and fell to the ground. "Yes! He's down!"

"That's great," Dick said blandly as the simulated monster roar faded from the speakers. Wally shot another sideways glance at his best friend who picked up the controller and shifted to a sitting position. "It's about time you finished."

"Hey, I don't play hide and seek in the dark, man. These eyes are good for processing light images in light-speed, not shadows." His eyes were riveted back as the screen began scrolling again. "So where are you hiding, dude?"

"In the elevator shaft to the next level." The screen suddenly froze when Dick pressed the 'pause button' on the controller. "Anyway, we'll have to take this up again another time."

Wally's head whipped around to stare at him in disbelief. "What? But dude! We're in the final level! If we quit now, we'll have to redo this mission all over again!"

"So finish it on your own or find someone else to play with you." With a stretch of his arms and a strong push from his legs, Dick flipped himself backwards over the couch like it was a giant gym-horse-thingie. "Sorry, but I have to get going. I promised Damian I'd get him some ice cream today."

"But-" Wally came surging to his feet, already reaching out to stop Dick but-

"Later, KF." His best friend waved over his shoulder and kept walking to the zeta tubes.

When the computer announced Robin's departure, Wally slumped back down onto the couch in defeat. Their game was still frozen on the screen but he couldn't bring himself to pick up the controller again. "Why is it always 'Damian this' and 'Damian that' with you lately..."


	2. Dick

Notes: So I got a little bored and decided to post this one a little early hehehe.

Reina Grayson, DarthZ, and Dextra2: It happens, sometimes. I remember when my cousin got a new kid sister and started hanging out with her instead of me I got jealous and a little lonely.

DawnFyre: Oh my, now I'm all flustered and worrying that my humble fic ain't worthy of being called 'epic'. But I can promise you that I did my best and enjoyed writing this whole thing :)

Bethlovesall: What can I say. When the plot bunnies show up, they tend to multiply lol. Oh, I'm not sure if you know this but you have your settings set to disabled for PM's.

* * *

"So, what'll you have?" Dick asked his little brother who was staring into each freezer and reading the various labels.

The younger boy had a line forming on his forehead as he frowned in consideration. "Are all ice creams sweet?"

Dick laughed. "Of course! It should be sweet or it wouldn't be ice cream anymore."

"And this confectionery is...delicious?"

That question brought a raised eyebrow. Half a year ago it would have been worthy of a jaw-dropping incredulous stare but Dick had learned early on how deprived his little brother's development was. And he'd promised to himself to correct that A-S-A-P. "You mean, you've never had ice cream before?"

The younger boy wordlessly shook his head.

"Then try the vanilla first; can't go wrong with vanilla." He shrugged and, knowing that his little brother likes to be fully informed of other options, suggested, "We can try another flavour if you liked that one."

Damian turned his frown at him. "I have heard it said that vanilla is for weaklings."

"Then maybe the chocolate one? Everyone loves chocolate."

Stormy blue eyes the same shade as Bruce's studied him intently. "But that is not the flavour you will be choosing."

Dick grinned. "Nope. I'm getting the Triple Chocolate Decadence. It's got syrup, nuts and chocolate chips in it. Yum!"

"Then I will try that as well."

"Sure you don't want to go for something milder? Not everyone likes too much chocolate."

The stormy blue eyes had just gotten darker, almost to thunderstorm level. "Do not coddle me, Grayson."

"Okay, okay!" He held up his hands and backed a step. Mollified, they both headed up the counter together and Dick gave their orders to the server. "A cup of the Triple Chocolate for me and please split my brother's cup into half Triple Chocolate and half Vanilla."

"My, aren't you boys adorable," the server giggled as she rang up their orders while another server went to prepare the ice cream. "That'll be $6.50"

Dick handed over the smallest denominated bill he had and waited for his change, inwardly wishing that Bruce wasn't so generous with his allowance that he'd almost always had to have a shop break down his money. Dick was a circus brat - he'd survived on a lot less.

"Here you go," the server handed over their cups with a polite smile. "Have a good day, you two."

"Thanks, we will," Dick grinned back, passing Damian's cup to him and ignoring the boy's glare.

"This is not what I wanted, Grayson," Damian stated.

"I know, but trust me, alright? The Triple Chocolate might be too sweet for you so I had them add the Vanilla to tone it down." He grinned and took a spoonful from his own cup. "And look at it this way, you'll get to try two flavours at once instead of just one."

Damian grumbled but let the matter rest, taking a spoonful of the Triple Chocolate half. He winced and took a spoonful of the Vanilla half, his eyes brightening at the taste. Before Dick could warn him, the younger boy was shovelling spoonful after spoonful of combined Triple Chocolate-Vanilla into his mouth - and was promptly treated to a stabbing pain in his head.

The younger boy cursed and clutched at his temple with one hand.

"Easy," Dick laughed, rubbing the back of his little brother's neck, "rub your tongue against the roof of your mouth."

Seconds passed as the younger did as instructed until finally, he aimed a suspicious glare at his ice cream cup. "Grayson, what was that pain? Is this confection poisoned?"

"It's called a 'brain freeze' and it happens when you eat or drink cold stuff too fast. It's a nerve response that causes a rapid constriction and swelling of blood vessels from the roof of your mouth to your brain."

"And it happens when you eat ice cream?"

Dick smiled to reassure his little brother. The kid seldom had any sweets or chips or other junk food other kids could have - Bruce was a stickler for healthy eating - putting him off one of the most popular treats would only result in bad things. "Only if you go too fast; eat slower, get your palate used to the temperature and it won't happen."

Damian nodded and took his time eating his cup, savouring each bite. "I can see why you like this confection a lot."

"It's good, isn't it?" Dick grinned at him, "Maybe next time you can try the Pistachio or the Strawberry flavours."

" 'Next time?' Why can we not have more now?"

"Because it'll ruin your appetite for dinner and Alfred won't be happy. There's a reason why ice cream is called a dessert."

"T-t." The younger boy grumpily stuffed another spoonful into his mouth. "Then I demand that we get more after dinner."

"Sure. I asked Alfred to get some the next time he went grocery shopping. So we've got two flavours to choose from at home."

Damian nodded. "If the flavours you chose are as sweet as these, then they will be adequate."

Dick laughed. "They are, trust me."


	3. Damian

Notes: The excitement picks up a little with this chapter ;)

Reina Grayson and Dextra2: Ice cream isn't the only thing that's new to Damian :D

jayfeather63: I go for Cookies and Cream or Double Dutch or something chocolatey with tiny bits I can chew on. If I'm tired of chocolate, I go for Strawberry...or Cheese! XD Okay, now I have officially weirded out some of my readers...

Bethlovesall: Thanks! :)

* * *

But whatever plans the brothers have for an after-dinner treat were crushed as soon as Bruce dressed up for patrol, instructing Dick to similarly prepare and thereby leaving Damian to wallow in the Manor alone.

Alfred was there, of course, but the butler would most likely be busy with chores and supporting the Caped Crusaders through the Cave's powerful computers. The youngest Wayne then had most of the night alone and he used that time to train and keep his skills at their peak of efficiency.

It still didn't take his mind off from the heated argument during dinner.

_"I am more than ready to join Grayson's covert team, Father," Damian announced, "I have simply been waiting for you to acknowledge it."_

_Bruce grunted and kept eating without faltering. "You'll have to wait further. You're not joining that team anytime soon."_

_Damian froze in disbelief. "What? Why?"_

_"I have my reasons." And the Bat left without a glance backwards._

And so the youngest Wayne was banned from joining his brother in their covert team. But his Father's orders have never stopped Damian.

That night, Damian snuck into the Batcave with only one goal in mind: his Father's files. He had been foolish to expect that he would be joining Grayson in his brother's covert team. Batman still obviously distrusted him. And now that he was banned from joining, Damian would have to find another way to realize his plan for Grayson - which meant that he would have to have someone else take his place.

The Crays proved to be more forthcoming with information on his brother's covert team than his brother himself. Though Damian frequently asked for more stories about his team, Grayson only told him of the more memorable ones where he and/or his speedster best friend pranked the team or when they pulled a successful mission by their fingernails. But it was all about the team's lives and work, not about the team members themselves. And for that, Damian needed an objective view of the team and the Crays was one of those.

It was composed of two aliens, two humans, a meta, and an Atlantean who was also the leader. They were occasionally joined by another human, Red Arrow formerly Speedy, and a homo-magi, Zatanna Zatara. All of them had ties to a member of the Justice League, except for one: Artemis, the archer girl. And Batman held suspicion on all of them but one.

Damian carefully cycled through the reports the team had given for each covert mission; reading them, memorizing them, analyzing the patterns on how they were written as well as who wrote them. Grayson's stories were of how his team behaved in and out of costume, but these were mere instances - mere tidbits of what he needed. The case reports provided more - information on the team dynamics, on the _members_ themselves.

Damian discarded the profiles of the hangers-on (Red Arrow and Zatanna) and opened the ones for the team's current and most active roster. He examined Aqualad's first, as the leader of the team. Living deep undersea with the profound pressures and extreme chill, the Atlantean would be stronger and tougher than a normal human - except for Damian, perhaps. And as leader, it would fall to him to look after the team. But Aqualad is Atlantean and therefore would always have other loyalties outside of the team.

Next, Damian pulled up Artemis' file. As the only other human on the team, she would have the same capabilities as Grayson and might have a fondness for him. But her upbringing made her intractable, too unpredictable, and if her lineage were to be put into question, Damian doubted her loyalty will remain the same.

Miss Martian? See all of the above.

Kid Flash is similar to Grayson in terms of maturity level; only _more._ The speedster has a track record of being too reckless, too hasty. He would be...unreliable for what Damian needed.

And finally, the Kryptonian clone. His strength is not quite as powerful as the original, but it was still impressive. He was also near-invulnerable - bullets, knives, and other mundane weapons do not faze him. Most of all, he was raised to be a weapon, like Damian. He should be easily manipulated by someone who knows just how to push his buttons; by someone he can relate to.

_Perfect._

Damian closed the files and removed his presence from the Crays' logs. His plan was beginning to take form.


	4. Bruce

Reina Grayson, Bethlovesall, DarthZ, and Dextra2: Just a bit of a heads up, there will be a couple of red herrings, a big distraction, several subtle hints, and two or three revelations hehehe. The mystery clears up by chapter 17, and the final chapter (18) will have a link back to Brotherhood.

jayfeather63: Reasons are as follows in this chapter :)

* * *

Bruce couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this irritated with Dick. Robin had been nattering at him non-stop about his little brother's skills and how he'd be a welcome addition to the team and that having social interaction with teens could be beneficial to the boy's development and... Bruce didn't bother to recall all the arguments as he'd tuned most of it out. Dick is a very vocal boy; he'd use entire paragraphs to convey a message that could have taken five words just to make sure his point got across clearly. It was an endearing trait at times, and annoying at others.

Like now.

"I'm not letting him join your team." He growled with the most authoritative voice he could muster.

But Dick wasn't buying it and demanded, "Why not? It's obvious he-"

"I've made my decision." He cut in, shooting his grapple towards the mechanical crane one block away. "End of discussion."

Batman swung into the night, barely hearing his partner's grumble, "..didn't know it _was _a discussion..."

It probably wasn't fair for the boys. In the weeks following Dick's rescue from the League of Assassins, he and Damian had grown as close as brothers - in name, if not by blood. Bruce had seen it on the day he met the younger boy. And Alfred had seen it as well, when Bruce brought both boys back to the Manor.

_"I gave him some food and he followed me home, Alfred!" Dick exclaimed the moment he spotted the butler, uninjured arm tugging the younger boy behind him. "Can we keep him?"_

_Before either adult could respond, Damian stomped a foot and tugged back, _hard. _The older boy was caught off-balance in mid-stride and would have fallen against the younger if not for his reflexes and quickly regained his footing. But Damian hadn't let go of Dick's arm. "I am not a pet, Grayson! Do not treat me as such!"_

_"Why not?" Dick laughed, ruffling the younger's hair, "You're my little pet brother!" And the two proceeded to play a brief game of tag._

_"Another stray, Master Bruce?" Alfred murmured beside the billionaire, barely hiding the exasperated tone in his voice._

_But Bruce shook his head. "Not a stray, Alfred. He's..." he clenched his fists at the violation he felt upon learning Damian's story, "he's my biological son."_

_Alfred raised an eyebrow in surprise before turning back to the two boys who were bickering good-naturedly and weren't paying attention to the adults. The old butler cleared his throat loudly and two pairs of blue eyes shot back to him. "I have taken the liberty of calling Dr. Thompkins as soon as Master Bruce announced your return. So if you would please, Master Dick, and...err..."_

_"His name's Damian." Dick announced cheerfully._

_"Master Damian," Alfred said, nodding, "Come now, off to the medbay with you two."_

Alfred and Leslie had taken x-rays, blood tests, the works to ascertain that Dick was relatively alright - except for the arm, the rib, and the mild concussion - while Damian was in a perfect state of health, almost _too _perfect. Dick's recovery had been slow but steady. A couple of weeks of physical therapy and intense re-training and Robin was soon back in action.

But Bruce wasn't idling by while Dick got back into shape. He'd taken Damian right from the start and evaluated the boy's skills and training. And just as the medical exams showed, Damian had been trained extensively. It would surprise no one if the boy grew up to surpass even his biological father. It only remains to be seen what other successes the boy will be capable of.

Bruce knew it wasn't fair of him to simply ban the boy from joining in without explaining his reasons. But therein lay the problem. Though he couldn't find fault with the training the League of Assassins provided, their ethics however, leave much to be desired for. Damian is an al Ghul - heir to a legacy of manipulations and deaths in a subtle bid for conquest. Knowing Talia and her father, they would have raised Damian to be part of this same legacy - one that might have Waynein its sights.

So no, he couldn't allow the boy to be a part of the Justice League's covert team.

Multiple movements from the alley to his left jolted him from his thoughts. He landed on the rooftop of a jewellery store and used his cowl lenses to zoom in on the dark alley. Built-in night vision illuminated the narrow space to a green hue, showing several figures wearing hooded jackets and ski masks. Each of them held either a rifle or a handgun, while two of them didn't bother to hide the additional crowbar in their weaponry.

"I see them." Robin murmured beside him, a signal that meant he had Batman's back. It was an unnecessary message as they both knew that Dick would never leave Bruce unguarded if he could help it; but the show of support always eased the dismal mood that came with patrolling Gotham.

He nodded his acknowledgement and dropped to a lower level so he could monitor the suspicious men. At this point, the men would be alert in anticipation of their planned looting. The sudden appearance of the Dynamic Duo would only result in a trigger-happy atmosphere, making this battle more dangerous than necessary. He signalled Robin to 'watch and wait.' There would be time enough for the men to focus on their robbery - and time enough for Batman and Robin to surprise them in the midst of their crime.

Two of the men nonchalantly walked out of the alley and past a streetlight.

"Same jackets," Robin pointed out softly, "stylized pitchfork and devil horns by their right shoulder. Devil's Gang."

"Small time gang." Batman agreed. "Notorious for shooting before thinking. Very dangerous."

"One by one?"

Batman nodded. One by one, indeed - the strategy that eats up time but makes armed combat more manageable.

They started with the lookout left outside the jewellery shop. The two robbers busy stuffing gold necklaces and other jewellery into small sacks were next. That left one who was crouched behind the cash register (easily taken out by one punch), another by the display cases deeper inside the store (Robin took care of that one), and the last who was busy with the small vault in the backroom (they both got that last one). Then it was a quick cleanup and a short wait for the GCPD to pick up the would-be robbers.

"Eight minutes," Robin muttered softly. "It took GCPD an entire eight minutes to get here after the alarm started ringing. If we hadn't been here those gang members would have walked away with a couple million dollars' worth of jewellery."

"Possibly more."

Robin blinked at him. "What?"

"Carter's catalogues all their pieces ever since the company started. The robbers would have a hard time finding a buyer for their stolen lot unless..."

"They dismantle the jewellery and sell the pieces separately _or_," Robin's face brightened, "they sell it confidentially which is risky but makes a lot more profit. They must have a buyer ready!"

"Correct."

Dick beamed at him for a second. But the smile quickly faded as he asked, "So, can Damian train with the team-"

"No." And Batman spun on his heel with a snap of his cape. He will not change his mind about the boy, no matter how much Dick pleaded with him.


	5. Dick Again

Notes: Didn't I tell ya things will be more engaging since chapter 3? :D Anyway, there's a scene here I'm really proud of hehehe.

Notes2: I liked the YJ: Invasion. Very promising.

Rant: I'm annoyed that some people are treating FFnet like a blogsite - posting episode reviews, rants and roleplaying blogs and such. There's a discussion forum attached to the site and categorized per fandom. Why don't you use it? FFnet should be an archive for stories and not blogs. It degrades the quality of the site, in my opinion.

Reina Grayson: Yes, but we all know that sometimes, paranoia does not make for a good plan :)

jayfeather63: I think you'll like this chapter too ;)

DarthZ: Haha, he does have the Big Bad Bat wrapped around his little finger, don't he? Lolz.

* * *

Dick woke up knowing he had to make amends with his brother. Bruce's sullen silence through the rest of patrol last night demanded it. So he sped through his morning routine and went down to breakfast deep in thought.

Ever since he and Damian had escaped from the League of Assassins, the younger boy hadn't had a chance to prove himself in the field. Bruce was adamant about his younger brother needing a chaperone anytime the boy went out and Dick was his constant volunteer. It worked for the most part while Dick was recovering; but soon enough school, team missions, and nightly patrols found Damian being relegated back to the Manor more and more.

Dick knew it was chafing for the highly trained boy; but it wasn't to be helped. Bruce was still looking into a cover story for Damian's presence in Wayne Manor - Dick still thought the 'child abandoned on the front porch' idea was the simplest and most beneficial to Bruce's reputation; if it wasn't for the fact that CPS or other government agencies might be interested in contesting Bruce's claim to the child. So no, they had to have a story that was both plausible and unsurprising. It didn't help that Talia al Ghul neglected to provide birth certificates, child immunizations, and other legalities when she told Damian to go.

Bruce was then left with a ten-year old whose presence would raise all sorts of hubbub if he admitted to Damian's illegitimacy.

_"Can't we just say you had a kid and didn't know about it until now?" Dick had asked once._

_Bruce shook his head. "Do the math. I've never met Talia until five years ago." In a softer tone, he admitted, "Ten years ago, I was still in college."_

_"So, the League of Assassins accelerated Damian's growth," Dick deduced with a frown, "Like Cadmus did with Conner."_

_"Yes. And therein lays the problem." _

_"How about adoption?"_

_"I have set my lawyers to prepare the documents. That is," he aimed a sideways glance at Dick, "if Damian is amenable to being adopted."_

_Dick grinned back at him. "I'll talk him into it. I'm the big brother, after all."_

_Bruce nodded, turning his attention back to the papers on his desk. A moment passed, and Dick still hadn't left the study. Bruce glanced up with an eyebrow quirked in question. "Yes?"_

_Dick shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I...I asked for one, you know. Once."_

_"One what?"_

_"A brother or sister." He ducked his head, twisting one foot as though he was doing a warm-up exercise. "I was the youngest. Back in the circus. Everyone was treating me like a kid. Babying me. And I hated it. So I asked for a little brother or sister so everyone would baby him instead of me." Dick glanced up, a smile playing on his lips. "Guess my wish backfired, huh? I got a little brother, but I can't baby him."_

"Good morning, Master Dick," Alfred's voice broke him out of the memory. "And may I ask what has you frowning at such an early hour?"

Dick sighed and took his customary seat to the right of Bruce's. The huge dining table was empty except for plates set for three. Dick must have woken up before Bruce or Damian - which was a rare, but normal occurrence.

He sighed again and tucked a hand under his chin. "It's Damian. He's... Bruce won't let him join the team."

"I'm sure Master Bruce has his reasons," Alfred agreed, setting down a glass of orange juice.

"_Good _reasons? Or he just doesn't trust Damian like I do."

"You know as well as I it takes time for Master Bruce to accept others." The butler offered a platter of the day's breakfast, "French toast?"

"Sure. I mean, yes, please."

He remained silent as Alfred served him two slices and set down a small ceramic jug filled with syrup. "Not too much syrup now, Master Dick."

"Yes, Alfie," Dick said with an exasperated whine. He took a bite of the bread before sighing, "It's been _weeks_. And Bruce still won't let Damian out of the Manor without me. I'll bet Damie's developing _Manor _fever by now."

"On the contrary," Alfred offered, "Master Damian has been spending his free time training at the Cave's gymnasium."

"But that's all he's been doing!" Dick protested. "Damie's just a kid! He should be playing video games or watching cartoons or-"

"I have no wish to partake in trivial activities." Damian's voice announced from the doorway.

"A good morning to you as well, Master Damian," Alfred greeted him. "Care for some French toast?"

The boy nodded and pulled himself up to his seat across from Dick. The butler served him two slices as well, telling him that the syrup "is right by Master Dick."

"I do not need copious amounts of sweetener as Grayson does." Damian stated, neatly cutting into the bread and taking a bite.

Dick glanced at the small jar of syrup beside him, then at the golden brown slices of toast looking forlorn on the white ceramic plate. "Sure you don't want any syrup?" he asked Damian, gently nudging the syrup jar closer to his little brother.

"No," Damian answered without looking up from his plate. "I find the syrup too sweet for my liking."

"I will make sure to purchase a less sweet alternative then, Master Damian." Alfred offered but Damian shook his head.

"No, Grayson requires his sweets. I will do without."

"Thanks, Damie," Dick replied. "But you don't have to-"

His little brother finally glanced up from his plate to give him a pointed look. "I will not deprive you of your creature comforts."

The older boy blinked, unsure of what to say in response; he was pleased that his little brother was considerate of him, glad that he wouldn't have to give up on his treats which already came rarely thanks to Bruce's healthy eating habit, but also guilty that he was the older brother and yet the younger is pandering to his tastes. He could have insisted on Alfred's buying an alternative in addition to his usual list - they could afford it easy - but doing so would be pushing. And Damian had a stubborn streak as wide as his dad's. Dick shifted his gaze back to his own plate and Damian followed suit.

Alfred cleared his throat to gain their attention, effectively breaking the awkward silence. "Master Bruce has already left for work - an unavoidable early morning meeting, I'm afraid." Dick sighed in disappointment. "Come now, Master Dick. Surely you can find some entertainment on your free day from school?"

Dick grimaced at the not-so-subtle reminder. "I've got that upcoming paper I could start early..."he trailed off, glancing back at his little brother, "How about you, Damie? Got anything planned for the day?"

The younger boy didn't look up. "Training."

"_More _training?" Dick asked with growing horror.

"Yes."

There was silence for a beat or two, as Damian finished his last piece of toast. Then Dick got to his feet, shoving his chair back with a loud scrape. "That's it. You're coming with me to Mount Justice."


	6. Damian Now

Notes: Here I go again, dropping hints here and there lol. The reason for my choice of alias will be explained here and in the sequel that comes after this ;)

Bethlovesall: Thanks! I'll be updating one chapter a day unless something pops up.

Reina Grayson: Oh, I'm not exactly sure the kind of 'fun' you were expecting, but I hope you'll still like what I came up with.

Dextra2: I'm not sure if you were expecting a Batkids vs team sparring challenge or something with the two youngest kicking the heck out of the others. Well, I have to warn you that this isn't one of them. Bruce has, after all, banned Damie from even training with the team.

jayfeather63: Haha you're not the only one.

* * *

"Why do I need to accompany you to your team's headquarters?" Damian sulked all the way to the zeta tubes - or at least, pretended to sulk. He had been planning to somehow coerce Grayson into letting him meet the team once again to put his plans into motion. This chance to meet them earlier would hopefully allow him to do so without raising any suspicion - at least, not any suspicion that he didn't put into place. Making sure that Father would not hear of his scheme was proving to be more troublesome than he expected.

"You need to have more friends, Damie," Grayson admitted, pulling the phone booth door open for him.

"And I will find them with yours?" He raised an eyebrow.

"It's a start."

"T-t." Damian led the way into the phone booth, feeling the tingle of the zeta beams run over him. He did not say aloud that he didn't need friends; having one brother is enough.

_Recognized Robin B-01, Black Tern B-09_

Grayson's team was waiting for them at the receiving area, much like dogs eagerly awaiting the return of their master. Damian found that habit annoying.

"So, Black Tern, huh?" the speedster said with a smirk.

"I do not need to explain my decisions to you." Damian stated, crossing his arms over his chest. He and Grayson had changed into their uniforms before travelling to the zeta tubes. Wearing the uniform discourages any possible passersby from connecting Robin, Batman, or whichever hero using the tubes to their civilian personas.

It was the first time Damian had worn his uniform outside of Gotham. He had patterned the design after that of Grayson's, only muting the colours to reflect that of his Father's and added a hood - a favourite accessory for an assassin. Not only would the hood keep his head dry from rain, it would also conceal his face and hide him better in the shadows.

As for his alias...

_"Why Black Tern?" Grayson had asked him once, puzzled over his choice of birds. "I actually thought you'd pick something more symbolic, like the ibis."_

_Damian jotted down Kevlar padding measurements on the design sheet as he explained, "A tern is a common sight in many places and is therefore, frequently overlooked and underestimated. I wish to convey such an image to better defeat my foes." He flipped a page and continued writing. "An ibis may be sacred to many cultures in the Middle East, but it is too conspicuous. A tern however, is small and does not have any symbolic attachments. It is also one of the most widely travelled birds in the world."_

_"Travel, huh?" Grayson grinned. "Guess you'll be doing a lot of that once you've gotten used to this lifestyle."_

_"I am anticipating it."_

How hypocritical his words turned out to be. Now not only is he not allowed to leave the Manor without supervision, he could not even patrol his Father's city alone. Is being isolated and sheltered the only way he is allowed to learn about the world? Mother would be ashamed to learn her blessing had been taken so lightly.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Robin asked, taking the attention away from Damian.

"Oh, the usual," Artemis shrugged, "you know: training sims, lectures, more training sims," her dark eyes suddenly became intense as she brought her fists to her hips and glared at Robin, "and even _more _lectures. We've been stuck in this Cave for months ever since you got yourself kidnapped! I've had more excitement _patrolling_ than this gig."

One corner of Robin's mouth twitched. "That bad, huh?"

"Batman has not given us any significant missions recently-"

Damian cut off Aqualad's complaint with a snort. "You are fools if you believe your missions have been insignificant."

He hid the smirk as Grayson's team exploded with exclamations of shock and disbelief. And Grayson barely kept himself from laughing or revealing himself - Damian could see the minute twitches in his brother's lips and hands.

Aqualad, the voice of reason in the team, took a deep breath and stepped forward. "What do you know of our missions, Black Tern?" His voice held no emotion other than a polite curiosity. Inwardly, Damian approved of the Atlantean's control.

"I know that you have been sent on several surveillance tasks." Damian answered, crossing his arms on his chest. "These tasks, while bereft of action, have been crucial to Batman's information banks."

"What's so important about seeing crooks funding research or trading ammo like it was going out of sale?" Artemis demanded.

"The last one should be obvious. And the first?" Damian gave a half-hearted shrug.

"That's it!" Kid Flash threw his arms about in exasperation. "I'm growing tired of your cryptic whodunit guesses! Either you know what's going on or you don't. Because if you do know, you'd tell us about it instead of tossing us some vague clues like this is a crime novel."

Damian snorted, "And I thought Father was starting to commend your intelligence."

"Hey! We're smart! We're just not psychics!" Kid Flash then paused and said in a softer tone, "except for Megalicious there. She's closer to being a psychic than us."

Artemis slapped him in the stomach with her backhand.

"Ow!"

"Alright, alright! Cool it!" Robin held his hands up in a peace gesture. "What Black T's trying to tell you, is the crooks are trading arms because they're looking for the best weapons and gathering them."

"Like they were preparing for a battle." Superboy offered, finally speaking up.

Robin nodded. "Right, and they were researching into diseases and poisons because..."

"Biological warfare?"

Grayson grinned, "Of course, this is all just speculation. But when you're dealing with major players-"

"You mean, they're planning to start a war?" Artemis' voice cracked in disbelief.

"Perhaps not on such a grand scale," Aqualad pointed out. "Funding a war is...costly, and a biological one even more so. But the range of the research that we have found-"

"It's not enough." Kid Flash shook his head. "The most you'll get from this research would be thirty to forty people, and that's only if they were all locked in a small room."

"Which still leaves us guessing as to what they're planning," Robin finished. "Now you have to admit, the League trusts us to get the minor details; we have to trust them not to send us on wild goose chases."

"This, from the guy who accused Batman of sending us on a 'joke' of a mission?" Kid Flash teased and Damian wanted to punch the speedster's lights out. But this is Grayson's team and he will not jeopardize his brother's standing in it.

Robin's grin disappeared. "Hey, I learned my lesson. It's time you guys did too."

"Okay, lesson learned. Never take any mission lightly. Now, can we play _Contact Point 2_?"

"Sure, I'll just let Damian-hey!" Grayson's reaching arm was suddenly swung away from Damian as Kid Flash grabbed his wrist and sped off with Robin in tow; leaving Damian alone in the receiving hall with the archer, the Martian, the Atlantean, and the clone.

"I'll go and make some cookies to welcome you!" the Martian cheerfully announced and flew off towards the kitchen.

"I'm going to fletch more arrows." Artemis said and left with a huff. Superboy simply turned and walked away without uttering a word.

That left him and the Atlantean. Aqualad turned to him and smiled politely, "I am sorry the team is not more welcoming to you."

"T-t. Save your apologies." Damian lowered his arms and stalked away. "I expected no less from Grayson's team." And it wasn't even a lie. Without an activity that would require the entire team in attendance, the teenagers tended to go their own ways. But this didn't mean that Damian was offended; the team separating was actually the perfect chance for Damian to hunt down the clone and speak with him - alone.

He found the clone in the lounge area, intently watching a channel tuned to static. Damian scowled at the irritating buzz and quickly crossed the room to turn off the television set.

"Hey!"

He ignored the protest and turned to face the enraged clone. "You are the one they call Superboy," he stated.

"What's it to you?" Superboy glared.

"I would make a deal with you."


	7. Bruce's Day

Notes: Wherein my college degree is making itself heard again ._.

Reina Grayson: Haha, Damian's version of 'fun' eh? :D

Dextra2: It's not what you think ;)

Lady Cryptid: Welcome! I've got a couple more surprises in store ;)

DarthZ: Are you sure it's a 'small' problem? Lolz.

Bethlovesall: It will be revealed in Chapter 17 :)

* * *

The meeting ran long and slow, with the notorious windbags of his corporate executives leading the discussion. Bruce had half a mind to just up and leave instead of listening to yet another recitation of the second quarter's business performance.

"As you can see, our profitability ratio has been going down," William Burst repeated for the sixth time, one well-groomed finger circling the sliding chart displayed on the screen. "We could say that with NSS Industries as a new entrant in the market, more and more people are switching to the new brand and leaving WE in the dust."

"But we're all agreed this is just for the short-term," Charlie Stenson pointed out, adjusting his glasses, "NSS doesn't have the capability to mass-produce as WE does, so what they're coming out with will always be limited."

"Law of Supply and Demand, Stenson," Tony Caldwell spoke up. He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers over his plump stomach. "If they continue to market their brand in the broad media - what do they call it now? Internet social media? - the demand will simply increase and they'll be pushing their price range higher. Maybe by late next year, their brand will be firmly entrenched in the mobile phone market."

"If that happens, we'll be setting a new profit baseline - one much lower than last year's." Burst said grimly, looking at the chart again.

Bruce inwardly sighed. He'd better speak up now or the rest of the meeting will be filled with gloom and doom. He got enough of that from his nightly patrols. "So what you're saying, is you see NSS as a threat."

"Of course it is!" Burst cried, fiddling with the cuffs on his suit jacket. "It's a new company that's already eating into our profit margins."

Bruce nodded. "Have you taken a look at what they're offering to the market?"

"Stylish designs, additional features, the teens are eating it up." He shook his head and grumbled, "Even my boys are asking for an NSS phone."

Bruce smiled with delight, and kept his smirk to himself. _Hook, line, and sinker. _His executives are still easily playable as ever. "Oh, how are your boys, by the way? They're about to graduate high school, aren't they?"

Burst blinked at the change of topic and nodded. "Yes, Billy's just a couple of months away and Ray's just a year away."

"My daughter's just a year away too," Caldwell added.

"Mine's already working on her college applications," Stenson chuckled. "Still a year away and she's lining up her options; a real forward-thinker she is, like her papa." His proud grin turned serious as he added, "and she's not asking for an NSS."

"Lucky you," Caldwell commented.

"No," Stenson shook his head, adjusting his glasses again, "no luck about it. Just practicality. She's asking for a Waynetech phone."

"Brand loyalty?" Burst suggested with a glimmer of hope.

But Stenson shook his head again. "She wants the practicality of a WE phone. All the NSS offers are full of bells and whistles; nothing very useful in the long run."

Burst's face brightened with relief and he stopped fiddling with his cuffs. "It's just a phase! A status symbol! If this keeps up NSS won't be in the market for long."

"_If _it keeps up," Caldwell suggested, bringing up one thick finger. "The next entrant might not be so easily ignored." He glanced at everyone in the boardroom, "I suggest we adapt some of NSS' strategies and come up with trendy phone designs, maybe even customizable ones. We can outsource some artists..."

"Why not turn it into a contest?" Stenson proposed, his glasses glinting in the afternoon sun. "We can say it's part of a Public Relations campaign..."

The discussion continued but Bruce was paying only half a mind to it. His watch had vibrated and he glanced down to see that Robin _and Black Tern_ had arrived at Mount Justice. _What's Damian doing in the Cave?_

He thought about it as the meeting finally winded down. As soon as the others started leaving, he similarly packed his papers and headed to his office. "I'll be out for the day, Stacey," He told his secretary. "Forward my calls to my business phone."

"Yes, Mr. Wayne."

He grabbed some of the more pertinent paperwork from his office desk and stuffed them into his suitcase then went for the elevators to the garage. Both his boys being at the former JLA headquarters implied that Dick had pulled them there - because he was bored? It was a plausible excuse as the former acrobat had been born and raised to always be in motion. The boy simply could not keep still for long - it took the entirety of Bruce's patience to teach Robin to be quiet during stakeouts.

But the fact that Dick would bring his little brother along to the secret hideout of the team Damian had been banned from joining or training with...was this a malicious attempt to keep the younger boy envious?

Bruce shook his head. Dick adored his little brother despite the younger boy's attitude. And the younger...might reciprocate those same feelings, if Bruce correctly interpreted Damian's watchful gaze at Dick. It could, of course, mean something else entirely.

His watch beeped and he glanced down again to see a message from Superman. Oh yes, the research findings the Boy Scout was supposed to have retrieved in his guise of nosy reporter. Those same findings were supposed to help him piece together the experiments Damian had been subjected to - the boy didn't come with immunization papers after all.

Hopefully the findings would give better results than this monthly review he'd just come from.

The Batcave was mostly silent; its resident bats still slumbering through their daytime sleep. In just a few hours those same bats will wake and start flapping their way outside to hunt for food. All his crime-fighting tools were built well behind the bats' flying route and free from any falling guano - much to Alfred's gratitude. But that didn't mean the Batman's lair was free from the occasional, wayward bat.

"I think that one got kicked off its perch," Superman remarked, his eyes watching the small creature zigzagging its way back to where the others were.

Batman merely grunted.

"Oh, I've got the results from STAR." The Big Blue Boy Scout floated closer to hand him a manila folder. "I'm not as good at interpreting lab results as you," he continued, paying no heed to the Dark Knight's glower, "But I can say that everything looks good. The League of Assassins weren't pulling punches when they made the little demon."

"His name is Damian." Batman snapped without taking his eyes away from the documents in front of him.

"Where is he, by the way?" Superman stared glancing around, as if suspecting the boy to suddenly appear and start screaming about the disregard the Boy Scout had for him. Unfortunately,

"-he's with the team at Mount Justice."

Superman's head whipped back to him. "What?"

"Take a look." Batman typed a couple of commands into the virtual keyboard and the Batcave's monitor screens showed Mount Justice's lounge room where two kids sat in deep discussion. One dark-haired teen was larger, his frame muscular; while the other younger, smaller, similarly dark-haired boy still had a build that would develop with age but was already showing hints of being similarly bulky. Both boys had their heads bent together; their discussion intense with the seriousness in their eyes though both refrained from making any extravagant gestures.

"Does the camera record audio-" Superman quieted when the boys' voices started filtering through.

_"-of a red sun can be as debilitating as that of the meteorite." _Damian was saying.

_"But it's harder to get hold of, right?" _Superboy countered. _"Just to create the technology to mimic the rays..."_

Damian snorted. _"These won't be amateurs. These will be highly trained individuals financially capable of developing such a device and won't have to resort to gathering poisonous meteorites in ridiculous amounts."_

Superman paled at the boys' words. Clearly they were discussing a Kryptonian's weaknesses - for being a League powerhouse, the Boy Scout had some of the easier weaknesses to exploit - but Bruce withheld judgment on whether the boys meant the discussion to be a plan to eliminate Superman or something else. Superboy was a clone of the Boy Scout; he had to share the same weaknesses as well.

"A-aren't you concerned about this?" Superman asked.

Batman shifted the camera feed to a smaller window as he brought up other files pertaining to the case Gordon had just given him. The lack of evidence was clearly puzzling as the crime was certainly vicious enough for stray hairs or clothing fibers or even skin cells to be flung around. But forensics didn't find any. So that means either the killer is a meticulous cleaner or...

"Bruce?" The Boy Scout's voice interrupted his train of thought.

Batman kept his annoyed sigh to himself as he answered, "And what do you want me to do about it?"

"You-he-you could talk to them about it!"

"About what? Their current discussion?" Batman scrolled through the files. "That would imply that we were eavesdropping on their conversation."

Superman looked flustered; clearly he didn't want to be accused of spying on the team of young heroes. The monitoring cameras were expected to be used by someone like Batman, not the Boy Scout. "But... what about their planning? Those two are _trained to be weapons _by our enemies! We have to keep an eye on them!"

"And what do you think I'm doing now?" Batman huffed in irritation.

Silence greeted his question. Bruce sighed audibly and turned to face the Boy Scout. "I'm doing what I can to watch over those two. But you have to admit, I can't always be there if either of them goes rogue. I may have taken Damian into my home and my family, but that doesn't mean that I fully trust the boy."

Even more silence. Bruce sighed again and rubbed a growing headache in his temple, knowing that when he turned around, the Boy Scout would be gone. He turned up the Mount Justice camera feed again.

_"What makes you think you're better than me?" _Superboy challenge came clearly through the speakers.

_"I was trained to fight ever since I was deemed old enough," _saidDamian, his voice a little haughty. _"You, on the other hand, were spoon-fed knowledge of the world instead of honing your fighting techniques. I have watched footage of your missions and you clearly lack any proficiency in combat other than stampede over all opposition." _The boy smirked. _"Is that what you have learned from Black Canary?"_

_"How did you know about that?"_

_"I am the son of Batman."_

Bruce inwardly flinched, feeling at once horrified, betrayed, _violated_. He shouldn't have dismissed this clandestine method of securing an heir from him to be above the al Ghuls. He'd vastly underestimated their level of honour, and now there was a boy who will suffer for it.

_So this is how the Boy Scout feels_, he mused to himself, _as opposed to what Dick feels_.

He continued watching the boys argue on the screen before the computer beeped again to indicate an incoming message.


	8. Back to Dick

Notes: In which, the extent of Wally's feelings is explained. I'm posting this a little earlier 'cause I have to go to work.

DarthZ: He grew up with a manipulative family. Of course he's going to do some manipulating of his own lol.

Reina Grayson: There's gonna be a fight in later chapters :)

* * *

"So you drag me in here just to play _Contact Point_." Dick said, one controller limp in his hand as he watched his best friend scurry about the rec room.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Wally retorted, blurring here and there to set up the game console, surround speakers, and flat screen before he arranged several snacks beside his seat on the couch.

"Well," Dick sighed before dragging himself to take his own seat beside the speedster's, "it's not exactly a _bad _thing but...didn't we play this yesterday?"

"That was yesterday. Today is not yesterday. Yesterday is past and we haven't played at all today. So yes, we play today."

Dick smirked, leaning back on the couch. "Addicted much?"

"I'm not!" The blur paused as Wally protested. "It's just..."

Dick rested his elbows on his knees and added in an encouraging tone, "It's juuusst...what, Wally?"

"It's just we almost never play together anymore!" Wide green eyes stared at him in accusation. "You were gone for months recovering and," he held up his hands to forestall any complaints, "I know, I get that. But when you came back you were always 'I'm taking Damian out later' or 'Damian needs this thing' or 'Damian's waiting for me'." Wally sighed and took a seat beside him on the couch, shoulders slumping. "You're almost never here anymore outside of training. You were always running back to Gotham."

"That's understandable," Dick shrugged, "I've got a new little brother. I can't be his big brother if I'm not there for him, right?"

"But not this much!"

He tilted his head curiously, because as far as Dick knew, his best friend is an 'only child' and never had experience being a sibling. "And you know this how?"

"I-err..." Wally turned his head away before snapping back to Robin when an idea hit the speedster. "Megan! Megan said her older siblings almost never spent time with her!"

Dick sighed, "Wally, M'Gann has more than _ten _siblings. If I had that many I'd be hard-pressed for time too."

"Aha! So you admit you're pressed for time!"

"Wally! In between school, heroing, and my civilian identity, I _am _pressed for time - even _before _I gained a brother." Dick shook his head and gave a conciliatory smile. "Maybe if we both hung out with Dami-"

Wally cut him off. "No. No way. I'm not spending time with a brat like him."

"Hey! He's not that bad."

The speedster scoffed. "Tell that to him. Don't you remember the first day we met him?"

Dick glared at him. He didn't know Wally to hate anyone on sight - not counting Artemis, of course - but that was more a show of loyalty to Roy than anything else. Wally was a very loyal person; it was one of his better strengths and his worse weakness. The speedster's loyalty often blinded him to seeing only what he wanted to see in others.

"Cut him some slack!" Dick scolded, his brotherly instinct to defend Damian rising to the fore. "He'd just left his home and met his father for the first time. Of course, he'd be defensive."

" _'Defensive'_?" Wally repeated incredulously. "He insulted Supey! And back-talked Kaldur!"

Dick folded his arms across his chest. He didn't appreciate his best bud's putting down his little brother and he didn't like this conversation more and more. "Like I said: defensive."

"That's not defensive! That's..._arrogance_! And disrespect!"

That's it. Dick had had enough. He'd just gotten a little brother and no one - first Bruce, and now _Wally_ - trusted _or _wanted Damian. Of course, he knew it was mostly because of half of Damian's parentage but Artemis had the same situation and Bruce let her into the team. It may have been because she saved Wally that time with Amazo, but Damian had helped Dick escape the League of Assassins. Shouldn't that count for something? It just. Wasn't. Fair.

So he dropped his arms and shot to his feet, hissing, "And maybe the _disrespect _could've become _respect _if any of you just gave him a chance like I did! But I know you, Wally. You didn't give Artemis a chance either, and it was only because she's stubborn that she's earned a place on the team. Well, _I _can be stubborn for my little bro!"

Then he turned on his heel and left.


	9. Damian Once Again

Notes: Wherein Damian's plan is beginning to take place.

Dextra2 and Bethlovesall: Now you see the first part of the plan :)

Lady Cryptid: Sorry, but I didn't write a lot of M'gann in this fic.

Reina Grayson: Was that a good ouch or a bad ouch? Lol.

Mirror's Mirage: It was a thought that stemmed from Alan Black's series. Superboy and Damian have a lot of similarities and it's an understandable reaction what Superman did. But Batman's seen how that worked out so he can't do something similar. But he's also paranoid because there's a lot riding on Batman and his contingency plans.

* * *

"So why are you wearing Batman's colors?" Superboy was asking. Damian had already given his reason for his choice of alias and now the clone had apparently moved on to uniform design.

"For stealth," he answered promptly. Black and gray hide better in the shadows of Gotham at night - an all black bodysuit still shows as a dark-on-dark figure, especially when in the shape of a person. The black cape disguises that shape into something blocky instead. The gray though... "is to honour my father as you wear the shield to honour yours."

Superboy immediately crossed his arms with an angry snort. "He's not my father."

"Your..." his face scrunched in thought as he tried to recall what Grayson said once, "...your _building block _then."

This time it was the clone's turn to ponder before he nodded. "Building block. Yeah, that one's good." The smile faded from his face before it could form. "But I don't wear this to _honour _Superman."

Damian raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue but the clone merely shifted and glanced away, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to confess. It doesn't matter anyhow; the reason was easy enough for the younger boy to deduct.

"You wear it for the day you will _replace _him."

The clone nodded.

The assassin in him was satisfied. The clone was proving as malleable as he had expected. "He is weak."

"He's stronger than me." Superboy grumbled.

"I do not mean strength." Damian snorted, pitching his voice to carry through to the lounge room's recording camera. "His morals, his upbringing - these only serve to make him hesitate. He will hold back and pause before a death blow. And his enemy will strike when he is off-guard."

The clone began to nod in agreement before his eyes sharpened with interest. "His upbringing? You know who he is? Beneath the cape?"

"I am the son of Batman."

"Yeah, whatever," Superboy grumbled and started to stand. "At least your _building block _took you in."

"T-t." Damian crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch. "At least the Kryptonian has made his feelings on the matter plain. My father may have taken me into his house, but he does not acknowledge me nor does he trust me." He gave a nod to the clone, "In this, you have the better advantage."

Superboy paused in mid-crouch before falling back to sit on the couch. "He doesn't trust you?"

"I have not been outside of the house on my own, whether in uniform or out. And I am not allowed on patrol without Robin."

The look on the clone's was a conflict of surprise, and suspicion. He opened his mouth to speak, to possibly ask why Batman does not give Black Tern any leeway, why the Bat does not trust his own son, why-

But a distant whoosh cut their conversation short.

_Recognized Superman 01_

The clone is immediately wary, even more so when the Kryptonian flies in to float in front of him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Superboy asks.

"I..." The Kryptonian is quickly at a loss for words, a typical reaction when he is faced with someone demanding explanations for one of his half-baked ideas. Truly, the alien had not made a habit of planning ahead, right down to the minutest detail. It is yet another failing of the powerful alien.

And yet he is here, in the Justice League's former base of operations, standing right in front of his clone and clearly being nervous for it. And Damian's inner smirk is growing wider.

"...I was going to invite Super- Conner. Conner!" The alien gave a sheepish smile. "I was going to invite Conner to a spar. Tomorrow. We uh, we need to find out how he fights someone physically stronger than him."

Superboy crosses his arms. "Black Canary already taught me."

"I...I can teach you more. I'm not the strongest being out there in the universe." The Kryptonian's face had a shy smile, one hand held out for the clone to take. "So, you up to it?"

The clone hesitates, glancing at the original's hand then to his smiling face and back again. Finally, he unfolds one arm and shakes the original's hand.

Superman lets out a relieved sigh. "That's...good, then. I'll...see you tomorrow."

And he flies out as though he'd hit his limit of clone-interaction. And Damian let him go; the alien had done as Damian had planned and now his arrangement is about to bear fruit.

Superboy turned to him with his blue eyes wide in amazement. "You...you were right. Superman's talking to me now. And he's even promised to spar!"

Damian nods sagely and keeps any hint of a knowing smirk to himself. He will not give anyone else any suggestion that he has scheme in play, especially not the Bat who could be watching the camera that was pointed right where they are. "Of course I'm right. I have been trained not just to plan, but to plan _well. _Just remember, you keep your end of the bargain and I will not steal my father's kryptonite."

"I can keep a promise."


	10. Damian Still

Notes: You know what they say about the best laid plans... Kinda like how I delayed posting this next chappie cause RL got in the way. (FCBD, Avengers movie, a date, a birthday party...) Apologies for the delay!

Reina Grayson: The way I figure it is, since Batman is busy with lots of other things, Superman decided that 'if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself.'

Mirror's Mirage: Damian learned from the best lol. And yeah, one way to defeat an enemy is to treat them nicely and somehow gain their loyalty hehehe.

Dextra2 and Bethlovesall: All will be revealed in chapter 17 ;) Well okay, not all.

jayfeather63: Hey, your not reviewing every chapter doesn't bother me at all. Take care of yourself first, y'hear? And Robin ain't the only one feeling that way, you'll see in chapter 17 ;)

* * *

He was searching the base for his brother - Grayson shouldn't be taking so long playing with his friend - when the call came in.

"Well, it took some doing but, here we are!" The voice slithered through the base's speakers like a slimy eel.

Damian's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he stomped all the way to the briefing room, knowing that Grayson's team would follow soon enough. The briefing room was dark, only lit with the glow of an open screen. The face on the screen was lean, smooth-skinned, with full lips and long lashes. His eyes were bright green - too bright to be natural.

"Just so you know," the man on the screen continued, "this is being broadcast through all known JLA frequencies. There's no need to ask me who my source is because I'm not telling."

"What's going on?" Kid Flash burst in, followed by the rest of Grayson's team. Damian glanced back and recognized his brother standing just behind Aqualad, strangely quiet but alert. Something must have happened between his brother and the speedster. What it was, Damian planned to find out later.

Before anyone could speak, another screen lit up, drawing everyone's attention to the newcomer: Batman.

"Who are you and what do you want." The hero demanded, his transmission coming from the Batcave and filtered through Mount Justice's system. Damian could hear the slight noise of the bats in the background.

"Well!" The man on the screen clapped his hands in delight. Damian suppressed a twitch of annoyance at the man's lilting giggle. It sounded like a cross between hyenas laughing and crickets shrieking. "Direct to the point! I like that! Alright since you asked so nicely," the man leaned forward, the screen showing his gleaming white teeth. Right then, Damian decided to hate him. "I want a match. One on one."

"With whom?"

The man grinned wider. "Your youngest. Robin."

Damian decided to hate the man even more.

But Batman's answer was prompt and expected. "No."

The man threw back his head and laughed his irritating, obnoxious laugh. If he wasn't on a screen, Damian would have thrown a dagger at him. "I knew you'd say that. That's why I came prepared," the man brought up his hand, holding a vial of yellow liquid. "I have here my latest breakthrough: the Marividae virus. It closely resembles the marburgvirus only this is more potent _and_," his grin widened, "it's airborne. I've sent agents to three of the most populated areas in New York to hide three virus canisters. The canisters are set on a timer that will release the virus unless _I _send the abort-command.

"You have forty-eight hours for Robin to find where I am." The man continued, ignoring the horrified gasps and angry threats coming from Grayson's team. "I'll even give you a clue: you may call me, the Games Master. I'll be seeing you soon, Boy Wonder!" The man gave a jaunty wave and the screen blinked out.

Hatred was such a deficient word. The man deserves to be exterminated and burnt and his ashes scattered over the ocean for his irritating self.

Batman immediately directed his attention to the team. "_None_ of you are to leave the Cave. The JLA will handle this. Stay. Put."

And the hero's screen winked out.

"Deja vu or what." Kid Flash muttered.

"Or what," Robin answered, already busy tapping into the holographic keyboard he summoned in the briefing room. "This isn't like Cadmus. Batman really wants us to stay put."

" 'Us'?" Artemis repeated. "Or just you?"

"It's not like I _wanted_ to be targeted in the first place!" Robin complained, still tapping commands into the computer. "And I hate being left behind just as much as you do."

"But that is what we will do." Aqualad stepped up to place a hand on Robin's shoulder. "This 'Games Master' has specifically stated that he wants you, Robin. And that is something we will not take lightly."

Robin spun to face him and the rest of his team, throwing off his leader's hand at the same time. "So you're all going to keep me here? You're all going to be on _babysitting duty_?" He crossed his arms.

"We have no choice, Robin. We do not want any harm-"

"Harm, smarm. We're superheroes! We get _harmed_ all the time!"

"Sure, but we don't really go around looking to get hurt," Artemis spoke up. "Because that's just, y'know, _masochistic_."

"Hey, I'm not-"

"T-t. Pathetic." Damian snorted. Clearly this team could hardly do anything if they were wont to argue frequently. "_Robin _does not need your overbearing presence to know he is not to be following this Games Master's demands. It would be foolish to give in to such menial orders."

Grayson's team stared at him for a moment before turning to give a pointed look at Robin, who sputtered in protest.

"What? You think I'm going to ninja my way out of here to face this guy?"

"No offense, Robin," Miss Martian said gently, "but you _have_ been doing it a lot."

Robin groaned and conceded defeat. "But this time, I wasn't planning on sneaking out." He offered. "I was planning on tracking the guy's signal and maybe point the League in the right direction."

"And to do so will require you to stay within reach of this Cave's systems." Damian finished for him.

"Exactly."

"So," Kid Flash asked, "You're not really going to go off on your own?"

Robin shook his head. "Why should I? I've got enough to keep me busy here for hours."

"Hello Megan!" Miss Martian exclaimed with a slap to her forehead. "I'll bake you some brownies then!" And she flew off towards the kitchen area.

"I'll be your taste-tester!" Kid Flash sped off after her.

Artemis snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to my room."

The rest of the team similarly left soon after, leaving Damian alone with his brother. He watched the older boy's progress through the multiple firewalls and bouncing satellite signals for a few moments before quietly leaving the room. The League may be able to find and keep the Games Master's canisters from releasing the virus, but a time limit of forty eight hours in a search range such as New York City can be a challenging task.

Not to mention, this _Games Master _might still be able to flee the clutches of the League if he could command such resources as breaking into League frequencies, hiring agents on a possible suicide mission, and custom-make his own biological weapon. It is an expensive ploy, but a ploy nonetheless for purposes unknown. But the only target so far has been Robin.

Clearly, something had to be done.


	11. It's Wally Now

Notes: Nothing much, just more hinting hehehe. Watch for the reveal in chapter 17 ;)

Dextra2: I'm not killing Robin. He's my fave lol.

Reina Grayson: Actually, I've never watched a single Teen Titans ep.

jayfeather63: I'm glad you liked that bit too. I think it was one of my better ideas hehehe.

Bethlovesall: Glad you liked it. Just a couple of chapters to solve this crisis then I'm done.

DarthZ: Well, the only disappointment I have with the series is the very little spotlight given to Robin :(

* * *

"That kid is bugging me." Wally complained to Artemis as he gobbled made his way through another tray of Megan's cookies. The archer had come into the kitchen to join him and Megan, claiming she "got hungry smelling those cookies all the way in my room." If you ask Wally though, he'd say Artemis was just bored staring at the walls of her room.

"Don't get so worked up over it," The archer advised, nibbling into her own cookie. "Robin'll come around."

"I wasn't talking about my best bud." Wally grumbled. Is it just him or are Megan's brownies just...not as tasty as before?

"These are _good_, Megan," Artemis complimented the Martian, taking another piece.

Oh. It was just him.

"So, which kid were you talking about?" The archer turned back to him.

Wally sighed, "Rob's brother."

Artemis snorted, almost choking on her bite of brownie. "Black Tern AKA Damian is _bothering _you?" she asked in between laughing and coughing. She grabbed the glass of water Megan mentally floated to her and took a huge gulp. "Thanks, Megan."

"What's so funny?" The Martian asked, setting down another tray of brownies on the kitchen counter.

Artemis waved at Wally, her coughing fit already fading. "The _Green-Eyed Monster_ over there is jealous."

"Am not!" Wally protested.

"Yes, you are!" The archer was smirking, "_Someone's _hanging out with his little bro so much, the 'Wall-man' is jealous!"

"I don't see why you'd be jealous, Wally," Megan berated him. "I think it's sweet that Robin's spending so much time with his new brother."

"Not to the point that he's neglecting his best friend," Artemis teased.

"He's not-! I'm not-!" He glared at the knowing smirk on the archer's face and he threw up his hands in exasperation. "Fine! So I'm jealous! I admit it! My best bud's in Gotham going all 'Damian this' or 'Damian that' and the only time I get to see him is during weekends on team days and even then we're always busy training training training or mission mission mission and we never get to play video games anymore! So there, are you happy now?"

"So why don't you hang out with Damian, too?" Megan suggested.

"No way!" Wally shook his head. "It's like I've been telling Artemis, there's something about that kid that's bothering me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we all know where we found him."

Megan frowned. "But, didn't you find Conner in the same way?"

"Yes, but Supey's different. I mean, he doesn't talk back - not a lot, anyway. And he's not insulting and he respects Kaldur!"

"And he doesn't hog Robin all to himself." Artemis slipped in.

"And he doesn't-hey!" Wally scowled back at the archer.

But she only rolled her eyes and started to leave the kitchen. "Oh, grow up, _Kid Retard_. He's got a baby brother now, get used to it."

Wally slumped on the kitchen counter with a groan. "Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

"Maybe you're just not seeing the whole picture," Megan suggested with a smile. "Have you tried giving Damian a chance?"

"A chance to what?" Wally's head shot up. "Hurt Robin?"

The Martian frowned, not in concern for the problem but in concern _for him_. "Robin is Damian's brother. Why would he want to hurt him?"

"Damian's raised by the League of Assassins! And _they're _up to no good."

"Conner was made by Cadmus." She pointed out. "But he's not trying to harm anyone who's a friend."

"And I've been telling you, Damian's different. He-" Wally made a sound between a shout and a groan. "Alright, I'll prove it. I'll find out what the kid's up to and if he lays one hand on Robs, I'll..."

Megan patiently waited, her eyebrows raised inquiringly.

"I'll think of something!" And he sped out of the kitchen.

So he spent the next few hours searching the base for the kid, all to no avail. He'd found the rest of his team though: Kaldur was reading in the library, Conner was at the gym, Artemis was fletching arrows, Megan was still in the kitchen, and...Robs was still hacking in the briefing room. Of Damian there was no sign.

"He went back to the Manor." Robin explained absently, his attention still on the massive screens in front of him. "He sent me a message before he left though."

"What's it say?" Wally asked, curious.

"See for yourself." The younger boy deftly typed a few commands into the holographic keyboard and a small screen popped up.

_"I have returned to the house." _The image of Black Tern spoke on the screen. _"I have called ahead and Agent A will be waiting for me. Follow when you are done socializing with the incompetents."_

"Guess he couldn't stand hanging around a lot of people," Robin said with a chuckle.

"He-he called us _incompetents_." Wally complained, raising his hands in disbelief. "Like we were..._sidekicks_!"

"Don't mind him. To him, everyone's incompetent except maybe for Bruce."

"Even you?"

"Even me," The boy's smirk grew into a full-blown grin, "At times."

"I'd hate to know what he thinks of the bad guys in your place."

"Don't know," Robin shrugged. "We haven't come up against one of our hard-hitters yet. Mostly- _hello_."

Wally immediately leaned over the younger boy's shoulder to take a look at the screen. "What?"

"Looks like I'm not the only one Damian left a message with."

Wally frowned, immediately feeling his suspicions flare up. "Who's the other guy?"

But the frown on Robin's face was that of puzzlement, and not concern. "Superboy."

Wally quickly excused himself and sped off to Conner's room where he was accessing his message. The speedster slowed down as soon as he reached the hallway leading to their rooms and started walking at normal speed. His room was just past Conner's, and when asked, he could pretend to say he was just going to his room. He wasn't _spying _on his teammate, nosirree!

A few steps away, he could hear the recorded voice of one Damian coming out of Conner's open door. He slowed even further so he could try to walk quietly and overhear what was being said...

The message was mostly garbled, but Wally was just a step away from Conner's door when the recording said its final line - and Wally had to hold back a shout of triumph.

Damian had just told Superboy to _"Remember our deal."_


	12. Still Wally

Notes: Once again, Damian's plan will be revealed in chapter 17. That's all I'm going to say about it other than 'gather all the clues and hints' ;)

Bethlovesall: Glad I've got you excited and intrigued with all my hinting and such lol. I love mysteries ^^

Reina Grayson: Wait till you see what I wrote for chapter 16 lol.

Dextra2: Yeah, these kids can be smart when they need to be. But then, sometimes they get distracted so easily.

jayfeather63: Well, he did get angry at Artemis for being Roy's 'replacement' on the team. And now someone's (who's related to major baddies) shoehorning in on his time with his best bud so yeah, I figure he'll be suspicious as well as jealous.

* * *

The moment Superboy left his room, Wally was just a few meters behind. When Superboy went to train, Wally went with him to run laps. When Superboy went to the lounge, Wally followed and flirted with Megan who was taking a break before she prepared dinner. And when Superboy went to eat, well, there was no need to explain that one. The pattern continued until dinner when the whole team gathered in the kitchen. Well, everyone except for Robin who was rarely allowed to stay in, in favour of joining Batman on his nightly patrols.

So it came as a surprise when the dark-haired hacker came walking in, as casual as you please.

"You're staying in?" Wally stared, half in disbelief and half in dread because if Robin was staying here, he'd have to up his watch on Superboy. And the speedster didn't think he could tail the clone even more and _not _get caught. Not to mention he had to get past a certain observant best friend who was trained by the World's Greatest Detective and would surely find him out. "Dude, you didn't tell me you were sleeping over!"

"I wasn't," Robin answered glumly, "until about an hour ago." He slid into a seat beside Wally and slumped. "Bats found a lead on the Games Master. He and Flash are checking it out."

"And this saddens you, why?" Kaldur asked in concern.

"Because this means Batman doesn't want me around while he takes on a dangerous mission. By not letting me go home, he doesn't trust that I'll not sneak out and follow him." Robin raised his head and smirked at them through his shades. "Not that I can't sneak out without you guys knowing."

"No!" Everyone jumped at Superboy's sudden outburst. "You're not sneaking out." He said firmly.

"Ookaayy," Robin tilted his head in curiosity. "Why?"

"Because." Superboy simply turned back to his plate and continued eating as though the discussion was over.

And that was how Wally realized that Damian's deal with Superboy involved Robin because any other time, Superboy couldn't care less where Robin went. Damian must have made a deal with him to...to what? Keep Robin here until Damian could set up an ambush? Wait until Superboy could get Robin alone and kidnap him? Whatever it is, there was no way Wally'll let the clone get to his best friend - Kryptonian genes or no.

Of course, six teenagers living in an enclosed space tends to bring secrets out in the open; faster if the secret-keeper didn't have a good track of keeping secrets.

"_What_ are you doing?" Artemis fairly jumped Wally. The team had dispersed again right after dinner; Kaldur back to the library and to the book he hadn't finished, Robin to his room to check on his little brother, Megan and Superboy to the hangar to check on Sphere and Wolf (with Wally following), and Artemis...well, he wasn't sure where the archer went but Superboy was leaving and he quickly ran after the clone.

He thought he was being discreet about it too. Too bad Artermis didn't seem to get that memo.

"Spying on Megan and Conner?" She accused him in a loud voice despite Wally's attempts to shush her. "That's so _low_ of you, Baywatch. And don't you-"

"What's going on-"

Wally grabbed Artemis and sped off with her before Conner could confront them. He stopped as soon as he reached his room and let go of the archer - quickly ducking the kick she'd aimed at his stomach.

"Hey, hey watch it!"

"You watch it!" Artemis shot back. "And don't ever carry me like a sack of potatoes outside of a mission!"

"You were going to give me away!"

The archer snorted. "Like you weren't being obvious with all your 'sneaking' around? Let me give you some advice, Baywatch: leave the ninja-ing to the _trained _ninja."

"Like _you're _a trained ninja?" Wally scoffed.

"I meant Robin, you idiot!"

"Well, normally I would if it'd help keep Rob safe!" He blurted. Then his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said.

But Artemis only narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. "What do you mean by that?"

"N-nothing! Nothing. I was-"

"Wally." Her voice had gone quiet. _Dangerously _quiet. Wally looked into her almond-shaped eyes and flinched at the image of her twisting his arm behind his back. He knew that when it came to their youngest, Artemis would fight like a wildcat to help him. Something had happened between those two when the Reds attacked. Wally wasn't sure what it was, but it had gotten them closer, more protective of each other than before.

And the speedster knew Artemis would not let this rest until she figured it all out.

So Wally sighed and admitted, "It's Damian." And he proceeded to tell her of what he'd overheard from Superboy's room.

When he was done, Artemis was frowning. "Did he say anything else?"

Wally nodded. "He did, but it was all garbled to me."

"I have to admit, you might have something."

Wally blinked in surprise. "You...you don't think I'm being...jealous again?"

The archer shook her head. "Damian's gone, just minutes after the Games Master's announcement. And before he goes, he leaves a reminder for Conner about some deal that we don't know about. If he left a note to Kaldur I wouldn't think much of it. But why Conner? And what would they make a deal about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Wally shrugged.

Artemis chewed on her lower lip as she said, "Know what else did I found out? Superman came visiting this afternoon."

"What? The big man himself? He almost never comes here!"

"I know. That's what I thought too when I checked the zeta tube logs and found his code." She shook her head and held out her hand. "But you're right. There's something up and if it has something to do with Robin, I'm in."

And Wally found himself grinning. "Su-weet!"


	13. Kaldur

Notes: I have to admit, I find Kaldur easier writing than M'gann. In fact, I must confess that I'm not a fan of the SuperMartian pairing. Simply put, I find their relationship too uncomplicated. But you won't see me directly attacking their fans though, and I do try to write as true to canon as I can :)

Notes2: I wonder if this fic did update yesterday. See, I updated on time but it wasn't showing up when I refreshed the site several times. I got two reviews though, so I guess it did update for some?

Mirror's Mirage: Artemis isn't the only one who noticed, as you can see here ;) I loved the episodes with Robin-goodness in it hehehe.

Reina Grayson: Yes, Wally can be a science genius, but there are some times when he just doesn't see what's in front of him.

* * *

As leader of a team of young heroes, Kaldur had seen a lot of mischief and errors in judgment - his team was young and inexperienced, but they will learn eventually. What he was not expecting was for his teammate to come to him with a troubled expression and ask, "Do you have misgivings about me and Conner being together?"

"No, I do not," he answered hesitantly. Megan was the most sweet-tempered of his teammates and the Atlantean couldn't fathom how anyone would want to hamper the happiness she'd found with Superboy - especially not anyone from his team. "May I ask what concerns you?"

Her hands clasped together over her chest. "I-it's Wally and Artemis. They...I..." she shook her head and tried again. "It's just...they've been following me and Conner ever since yesterday. Are...are they against me and Conner dating?"

Kaldur raised an eyebrow and reached out to pat Megan's shoulder. "No, I am sure they are happy for you, that you have found joy. Perhaps their following you is merely...a coincidence?"

But she shook her head again. "It's not just them. It's...it's Conner too."

"What has happened?"

"It's too embarrassing to say..."

"M'gann," he said gently, taking her clasped hands in his and rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. "You may speak freely to me. I will not judge."

"He...he keeps asking about Robin!" She blurted out, tears beginning to form in her brown eyes. "Every time we're alone he wants to know first where Robin is and what he's doing. And I barely have time to answer when he hears Wally spying by the doors and-and then Artemis keeps passing by-" Her eyes widened as she pleaded with him. "Are they against me and Conner? Would they rather Conner be with...with _Robin? _Because I know Wally is his best friend and Artemis is just as human as he is and-"

"M'gann, M'gann!" He grabbed her shoulders again and gave her a little shake. "Calm down. I am sure there is a valid explanation for our teammates' strange behaviour. Perhaps...they are hiding a surprise?"

"What surprise would that be?" a young voice cut through their conversation and made both of them jump.

"R-Robin! I-We didn't notice you..." Megan turned to their youngest with a false smile, the tears in her eyes already morphed away.

There was a smirk playing on the boy's lips. "You two are looking pretty cosy there."

Kaldur and Megan exchanged glances and quickly stepped away from each other. The Atlantean opened his mouth to explain but Robin was already backing away with a wave.

"Anyway, you can explain things later. I need to check on perimeter security. It's been tampered with."

Kaldur immediately took a step to follow him. "Should we be concerned?"

But Robin shook his head and tossed over his shoulder. "Nah, probably just a squirrel or a raccoon messing around. Later."

And Kaldur and Megan were left alone.

He turned back to Megan to continue their discussion when Conner came in.

"Did I just hear Robin?" The teen asked.

"Yes. He left to check the security around the mountain." Kaldur answered with a nod.

"Okay." Superboy gave an answering nod and left in the direction where Robin had gone.

A second or two passed then Wally passed by the room with nary a greeting to either Atlantean or Martian. He, too, was going in the same direction as Superboy and Robin. And quick on his heels came Artemis. _She_ spared a wave to Kaldur and Megan but didn't pause in her pursuit.

When Atlantean and Martian were alone again, Kaldur turned to Megan, "You were right. There _is _something wrong with the others. And it stops _now_."

With a determined frown, he set off to catch any one of the aforementioned four.


	14. Kaldur Again

Notes: A bit of warning here for a bad word at the end.

Reina Grayson: But wait, there's more! ;D

Hybryda: Would you believe I wrote that part with Robs, SB, KF, and Arty, edited it, and only then realized how funny it looked?

jayfeather63: Yeah, considering how she used a sitcom as a sort of reference for life on Earth and how she stubbornly kept to its optimistic nature despite knowing what that things really couldn't be that easy. No, I'm not dissing on M'gann. I just think she (and the team) has a bit of growing up to do.

DarthZ: They are? When? Lol, where did that come from?

Bethlovesall: Haha then I sure hope I'm doing things right and that you're picking up on the hints I've been dropping :)

Mirror's Mirage: Well then, I'm glad I did it well despite my misgivings. It was either try to write it out (with a lot of cliches put in) or gloss over it. And I have this thing for leader types so Kaldur's easier for me to write, along with Wally (think hyper!), and Robin (he's my fave). The others? I have trouble writing them.

Dextra2: It'll be answered in this chapter ;)

* * *

It didn't take long for him to catch up with the straggler of the group: Artemis. Though straggler was the wrong word to describe the archer - she was quick on her feet and fights like a surface wildcat - she was still the last one to follow after the others and therefore, the closest to Kaldur.

"Artemis," he called out as soon as he spotted the blonde ponytail. "I would have a word, if you please."

The jacket covered shoulders slumped in resignation before turning to face him. "What do you want."

He fought off the urge to raise an eyebrow at the archer's sullen tone. As a friend, he didn't want there to be any ill-feelings between them but as leader, he had to see this problem through or their next mission might be jeopardized irreparably. "I want to know what you are planning with the others."

Artemis immediately forced a smirk on her face. "Others? What others? And what are you talking about?"

"Your frequent interruptions of Megan and Conner's private time, for one," Kaldur didn't bother mentioning that whenever the archer got nervous, her voice would crack like it did now. "And why you and Wally are spying on those two."

"We-we're not spying! We're just...uhh, making sure they don't do the nasty while in here. Because, you know, this is a League base and we still have den-mothers from the League and what if..."

This time, Kaldur let his disbelief show with a raised eyebrow. The archer trailed off and finally relented. "If you want to know so bad, take it up with Wally."

Kaldur nodded and started to leave. "I believe I will."

Catching Artemis was easier than running after a speedster. But Kaldur had an advantage: he is the team leader.

"Wally." He called in a quiet voice as soon as he spotted a red and yellow blur.

A reply drifted back to him from one of the hallways, "...Can't talk now. Gotta go."

"Wally." He tried again, louder. When there was no response, he finally shouted, "Wally!"

This time, the familiar yellow and red blur stopped in front of him. "You called?"

"Yes, Wally," Kaldur began, raising an eyebrow again as the speedster started to fidget. He waited until he received a sheepish 'sorry...' before continuing, "I spoke with Artemis earlier. And she told me-"

"Megan's missing cookies?" Wally interrupted. "Totally wasn't me! And the rubber ducky in your private pool? Wasn't me either!"

"How did you even-" Kaldur blinked then shook his head. "No, do not change the subject. I would like to know why you and Artemis are spying on your teammates."

"Spying? Who says we were spying?" The speedster shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Wally." The Atlantean sighed, weary of his teammates being secretive. "As your team leader, it falls to me to make sure that the team is a cohesive unit. Your and Artemis' antics are proving to be disruptive as _Megan_ had to come to me." He gave Wally a pointed look. "Megan who seldom complains about her friends. Megan who is happy to give us baked treats. Megan who-"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Wally threw his hands up in surrender before dropping them in a defeated pose. "Man, talk about laying on the guilt."

"So what is it that you are planning?"

Wally sighed. "Nothing, really. Artemis and I were just keeping an eye on Supey."

Kaldur raised both eyebrows in curiosity. "Why?"

"It's...I overheard _Damian's _message to Supey, okay?" The beaten pose was now replaced with a suspicious one. "He and Supey had made a deal and just minutes after the Games Master's message, Damian's gone. Not only that, Artemis found out that _Superman _himself came visiting here recently."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes." Wally nodded vigorously. "There's something up between Damian and Conner and I'm guessing it involves Robin. So Artemis and I were trying to-"

_Kaldur! Wally! You need to see this!_

M'gann's mental voice broke into their heads and they immediately ran to where the Martian projected her thoughts from. They found themselves back in the briefing room where Megan and Artemis were already watching a large screen - showing _Robin_ in combat with the Games Master.

"Oh shit," Wally cursed, his face pale. "Robs."


	15. Wally Final

Notes: Nothing much to say other than: surprise!

Notes2: So before I go quiet and work on the next sequel, I'd like to do a oneshot while I write. So, send over some prompts! As long as it's good for a oneshot, I'll consider it :)

Notes3: I just realized, Damian's plan will be revealed in the FINAL chapter (18th) and not 17th as I kept telling folks T_T I remembered my chapters wrong again. So, just a couple more chapters and the mystery will be solved :) Enjoy reading in the meantime.

Bethlovesall: Hope you like this one then! Three more chapters to go till the end.

Hybryda: I saw that when Kaldur talked to Supey early in the series. In fact, I think it's a good leader's job to solve problems as peacefully as he could without resorting to violence.

Reina Grayson: Yes, I think Robin can be just that sneaky... But read on and find out if you're right ;)

Blackpantherwolf: Wally's a science genius and to me, that means he's smart as heck but he gets idiot moments at times especially when he gets distracted. I know, I'm not on a genius level as he is but I do get my own idiot moments despite how much intelligence I got. And I like the comics better for Dick and Wally moments. The cartoon don't give me enough Dick moments T_T

Mirror's Mirage: Read on and see if you're right! :D

* * *

It was his fault. If there was only one thing Wally knew, it was that the whole Robin-fighting-the-bad-guy was his fault. If he hadn't insisted on following Conner, Artemis wouldn't have caught him. And if Artemis hadn't seen him, she wouldn't have worried Megan. And if Megan hadn't worried, Kaldur wouldn't have to confront them one by one. And if Kaldur hadn't confronted them, _someone_ would have been able to keep an eye on his best bud or Conner _before _Robin was singled out from the rest of the team. Because that's what he thought happened: Superboy got Robin outside of Mount Justice and packed him off to fight the Games Master. _Damian _must have been waiting outside to keep Robin off-guard when they jumped him.

To make matters worse, another screen blipped into existence right beside the video feed of the combat, quickly resolving into the Dark Knight's visage.

"Batman to the Cave. I'm assuming you are similarly receiving the live feed." The senior Justice League member said coldly. "_How_ did this happen?"

Wally looked to Artemis but she was pointedly not looking at him, and really, how could he expect her to stand up for him when _he _was the one who held the information, the one who started the entire operation. He could already feel the Bat's wrath heavy on his shoulders as he took a step forward and opened his mouth to explain...

"Apologies, Batman," Kaldur spoke up, "we were distracted."

"Explain."

The Atlantean took a deep breath. "We were-"

"Did we have a mission and no one bothered to tell me?" a young voice interrupted.

Wally whipped around to find... "Robs!" And there was his best bud, with Superboy behind him, standing by the doorway.

"What? Why are you all staring-" The Boy Wonder never got to finish because Wally had ran over to hold him at arm's length.

"Dude, don't _ever_ leave this place alone. Y'hear me!" The speedster emphasized his words with a shake.

Robin quietly endured his shaking before grasping Wally's inner elbows and using them as a base to _flip himself backwards_. The speedster quickly let go of Dick's shoulders before his wrists were twisted.

"Okay, KF, what's the big deal with-" It was at that moment Wally knew his best bud had caught sight of the Games Master's video feed. And to be honest, Robin looked a little funny with his mouth open like that.

It was so funny, he almost forgot about the big bad Bat until said Bat spoke up.

"Robin."

The dark-haired boy shook his head, eyes riveted on the video feed. "That's not me! That's-that's Damian!"

"What?" The word burst out of Wally's mouth before he could stop it. Damian, his best bro's baby brother, the one who insulted Superboy within the first three minutes of meeting them, the one who disrespected Aqualad. And he was impersonating Robin to fight the Games Master! Wally didn't get it. Why would the little snot do that?

But Robin wasn't finished. "He must have hacked into the security systems - _my _security systems - and changed my codes so he could sneak out. That's why I was checking the perimeter to re-program the sensors there." He waved a hand to bring up a holographic keyboard and started typing vigorously. "Of course, I should have suspected something when he said he went home yesterday. That message he left was his backdoor into my system."

"What are you doing?" Artemis asked, stepping closer as a new screen emerged with lines of code rapidly filling the blank space.

"Tracing the signal." Robin answered. "If the video's a live feed, I can follow it back to the satellites and the computers the Games Master must be sending it from."

"Why broadcast it in the first place?"

"It's his name," Batman replied through the uplink. "This is a game to him: a staged combat between two trained fighters."

"Tell me you found the virus canisters." Robin demanded of his mentor.

"I'll do you one better: I found out who the Games Master really is."

For a second or two, there was silence in the briefing room as even Robin stopped in his typing. Only for a second. And then Robin was hissing, "Tell me."

"Later," Batman said. "For now, I need you to concentrate on finding Damian. The Justice League will handle the canisters and the Games Master. But you need to stop Black Tern from doing something we will all regret. Batman out."


	16. Damian's Fight

Notes: The chapter some of you have been waiting for ;)

Mirror's Mirage: Well, yeah Black Tern's shorter than Robin but I'm going on the idea that the height difference isn't that noticeable unless you've personally met either or they're standing beside each other :)

Hybryda: It was the only way Damie could sneak out of the mountain without letting anyone know lol. Next chapter will tell you why ;)

Reina Grayson: What? More? But, I've only got up to chapter 18 for this and two more sequels to work on. Though, I hope you still find the rest of the chapters as epic :)

DarthZ: Yup, Damie's got all the action right here :)

Bethlovesall: Games Master will be revealed next chapter.

* * *

His enemy was well-trained.

Damian crossed his eskrima sticks to block the Games Master's downward slash, both their arms straining to overcome the other's grip. Neither of their arms shook; this early in the combat they were both at their peak of strength. The two of them both had a slender build and a fluid warrior's grace that meant some proficiency in martial arts; but there are differences: the Games Master stood just an inch shy of six feet tall, while Damian barely reached the man's chest. The man also preferred a single katana while Damian, his choice of weapons restricted by his impersonating Robin, was forced into wielding a pair of eskrima sticks.

No matter, he was trained in a variety of weapons, eskrima being one of them.

The man's katana blade dropped another half-inch lower. A smirk started to form on his opponent's face at this sign of weakening strength. But Damian had given him that half-inch to give the man a sense of false triumph - and to keep the man's attention away from his shifting weight to his left foot so he could kick with his right.

His foot connected with the man's stomach, shoving him backwards with an 'oomph!' Damian ran to push his advantage but the man quickly recovered and parried Damian's low sweeping strike with the flat of his blade. And he didn't stop there. The katana blade bounced off the eskrima stick and arced over Damian's head to strike at his arm. The move would have worked for a single handed weapon.

But Damian had a pair of fighting sticks, with twice the range of a single weapon. (In that, he agreed with Grayson in his choice of using eskrima sticks.) He flung the free stick up to block the descending blade. Damian would have pressed further but the man took the opportunity to spin away from his other stick.

"You're faster than I expected." The man admitted, his katana weaving left and right in a ritualistic dance.

Damian didn't bother responding. Words spoken would only lessen his energy and shake his concentration on the battle. He rushed the man, his sticks aiming once again for blows to the knees that the man easily blocked or jumped over. Even when he switched to aim for the man's head - basic rule of combat: the faster you incapacitate or disorient your opponent, the quicker you end the fight - the Games Master readily followed to guard against his high strikes.

"Stronger too," the man commented, landing a few feet away from a graceful back flip. His pale skin was still free of sweat and his breathing never wavered. "Why, it's almost as if-"

Damian came at him again, not giving him the chance to finish his sentence. Block after block, parry after parry, they wove an intricate pattern of offense and defence, both taking and giving way to the other. In terms of skill, they were evenly matched. Damian could anticipate the other's moves with an uncanny precision - the man broadcasted his intentions loudly - while the Games Master was quick enough to respond to anything Damian threw at him. But Damian's body was heating up from exertion; he could feel beads of sweat forming all over his skin. He kept his breathing fast but calm, though he was still far from his limit. If the battle continued through an extended period though, he would definitely be having problems.

And then it happened.

Fire raced along the back of Damian's left hand, forcing him to release one stick. The Games Master's eyes shone in triumph.

That was his first error.

For the untrained eye, wielding two eskrima sticks gives the impression that there is less deadliness when one stick is disarmed. Wrong. Eskrima is not an exacting martial art; the lethal force remains the same whether you have one stick or two. The only difference is in the movements.

The katana blade came down. And Damian went up. Fighting stick and naked blade met with a dull clash; Damian swiftly twirled the stick around the katana, twisting the man's wrist to expose his fingers. He shoved the bottom edge of his stick in between the hilt and the wrist and _shoved._

The Games Master dropped his katana. A fast dive and the edged weapon was now in Damian's hand while the Games Master was weaponless. Damian's fallen stick lay innocently just two steps behind the Games Master.

The two of them faced each other, each watching the other for the telltale signs of a planned move. The man's eyes didn't move from his eyes, but Damian kept watch on not just the eyes but the man's whole body. Intent can't always be discerned from holding another person's gaze; rather, the twitch of muscles or the shifting of weight was more obvious and those are what Damian looked out for.

"You are much, _much _faster than I expected." The Games Master said, his breathing still calm.

And Damian sneered, already knowing how the fight will end with the secret he is about to reveal. "I know what you are."

The man's green eyes widened and he dove for the abandoned eskrima stick. Damian followed. One advantage to using eskrima is its versatility. The techniques can be applied no matter if you held a pair of swords, sticks, your bare hands, or even a knife and fork. The only difference is your reach.

His enemy was well-trained. But _he _was far superior. The Games Master never had a chance.

In two steps, Damian was batting away the man's desperate slash with his remaining stick, and thrusting into the man's torso with his katana.

Blood spurted, splattering his face and stomach. Damian paid it no heed.

He watched the man's green eyes turn dull and lifeless as he kicked the body off the blade. But the thump of the body hitting the ground didn't hide the loud gasps from behind him and Damian whirled.

Grayson's team stared at him with shock. Damian couldn't care less at the reactions of the other former sidekicks but he couldn't help the stab of guilt when the real Robin stepped forward and whispered in horror, "What did you _do_?"


	17. Dick's Reaction

Notes: Well, how'd you like the previous chapter? ;D

Hybryda: That wasn't such a long wait, was it? See, I ain't that cruel ;D

Mirror's Mirage: Well, I hope this chapter clears up a few things. I've still got a couple more revelations in the next chappie. And crap, I guess I neglected to connect how the team got from the cave to the battleground T_T I'll have to mention that in the next sequel then.

Reina Grayson: Aww thanks! Didn't think I was that good at building suspense lol.

jayfeather63: Next sequel has it's own share of fight scenes too. I can only improve with practice hehehe. But this chapter should answer your questions about how they reacted :)

* * *

Batman was going to kill him. No, not just Batman; Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, _the rest of the Justice League_ will kill him. And not only that, he was also going to lose his little brother.

Damian stared back at the team, his stormy blue eyes as calm and emotionless as the time he stared at Dick with his fist drawn back. Blood dripped steadily from the katana blade in his hand and Dick's eyes kept following each drop as they fell to the floor.

This wasn't his little brother. This wasn't the little brother who studied a cup of ice cream like it was a pinned frog about to be dissected; the little brother who faithfully watched America's Most Wanted and challenged him to a contest on who could solve the crime faster; the little brother who looked at him like he was the best gift anyone had ever given. No, this was the boy who trained with assassins and grew up to one day replace the head of the League of Assassins.

And all Dick could think of at that moment is, "Why?"

Why sneak out and kill someone in my name? Why go against Batman's most important rule of no killing? Why ignore what I've been trying to teach and throw all my hard work back in my face?

But Damian only turned his gaze to the floor.

There was a sigh beside Dick and Kaldur's calm tones said, "We will have to contact the League-"

"No!" He spun and grabbed the Atlantean's wrist before it could reach the communicator on their leader's belt buckle. "You- The League will- Damian-" he shook his head and tightened his grip. "You can't call them!"

Kaldur turned sorrowful eyes at him. "I am sorry, Rob-Richard. We have a responsibility to call the League."

"But-but what about my brother...?" His voice was choked; he could barely let out the words. It was easy enough to chastise an alien he wasn't familiar with, back when the team was barely forming and M'gann crushed Mr. Twister's pilot. But now, now he was having visions of Damian - his baby bro - locked behind bars or worse: _sent back to the League of Assassins_. He'd only known Damian for a few months and they weren't really blood-related but they were still family; and to a Rom, family is _everything _to him.

It wasn't fair. He wasn't prepared to lose someone again.

"He would have broken you," Damian's sullen tone carried throughout the room. Dick clutched at the explanation with both hands and both feet as his brother continued, "this Games Master. He was planning to force you into killing him once he was defeated. And even if it will be in self-defence, it would have broken you."

The team stared at him in stunned silence.

"Waitaminute!" Kid Flash stepped forward, "Is that what this is all about? To force Robin to _kill_?"

Damian nodded.

"I don't believe this!" The speedster threw his hands up in the air. "Why would anyone go through all this trouble to-"

"You...snuck out to take this fight from me, didn't you?" Dick asked softly, knowing his little brother - with his exceptional hearing - would hear him. "You did this...to protect me." At Damian's nod, he felt anger surging through him. "It's not right! I'm the older brother! I should've been the one to protect you!"

His little brother shook his head. "I do not need your protection this time, Grayson. I have killed before. This is nothing to me."

That...wasn't exactly the right thing to say when faced with a group of teens who had practically grown up under the tutelage of the Justice League. The no-killing rule was a fundamental unwritten rule in the superhero handbook, and Damian had just admitted to breaking it..._twice._

"I knew there's something wrong about you!" Wally pointed an accusing finger at Damian. "You couldn't even keep from killing the bad guy!"

Damian dropped the katana to cross his arms as he glared back. "I do not owe my allegiance to you."

"Obviously not, because if you were I'd-"

"Enough, Kid," Kaldur's hand dropped heavily on Kid Flash's shoulder. "We all agree it is best to bring the League into this discussion."

"Is it even a discussion?" Damian asked sullenly.

Kaldur turned to him and was about to say something when a loud beep interrupted. A large holographic screen blinked into existence a few steps to Damian's right, showing the silhouette of a man standing in front of a powerful floodlight.

"Congratulations, Robin," the man said with a disgustingly pleased tone like a cat that had eaten the canary and had a juicy little robin for dessert. The lighting made it almost impossible to make out any of the man's features except for his voice. "Very well done: your first kill. How do you feel?"

Damian shrugged. "It was hardly a challenge."

The man's shadow was visibly taken aback in surprise at Damian's indifference and Dick realized the screen's angle kept the team out of sight. Still, he wasn't about to let this sicko ogle his little brother in his presence.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded of the man.

The screen turned and the man slammed his hands on his desk. "_Two_ Robins? How can there be- Oh no. Nonono no! You ruined everything!"

Any other time, Dick would have raised an eyebrow at the cliché reaction. But any other time he wasn't going to lose his little brother. So instead of feeling amused, rage burned in his gut. _This man was going to take his family from him and laugh about it._

"So you're the one who's behind all this?" he accused the shadow on the screen.

"And the one who will reap all the profits if you hadn't wrecked my plans!" The man ranted. "It was an easy decision! How hard can it be for the Bat's protégé to make his first kill? Do you know how hard it is to get a completely life-like golem?"

Stunned silence descended over the battleground as the man's words sunk in. Dick's fury disappeared, leaving only a cold and numb feeling in its place before the silence was broken by a near-silent, "T-t."

Dick immediately turned to the source of the disruption. "You-you knew the Games Master was a _fake_?"

"His features were too perfect," Damian explained in a voice that was softer than his usual. "And his fighting was too predictable."

"You mean you _didn't _kill anyone?" It was Artemis' turn to step forward and Dick could see in her eyes that she was conflicted. Knowing who her family is, he could guess at where that conflict came from: relief that this kid had a lucky break, resentment because _she_ didn't have that lucky break.

"Mind you, this had been a _very expensive _fake." The man on the screen said heatedly. "It cost a fortune to have one created exactly as I wanted: easy enough so little Robin would never be defeated but challenging enough to force his hand." The man's hands clenched into fists. "I would have the beginnings of a small profit that would only grow with the next step of my plans. And you. Ruined. It!"

"Forget your plans." Even through the filtered speakers of the video feed, the sound of glass breaking rang throughout the room.

"What the-" The man on the screen whirled around - Dick could see a face with unremarkable features except for the smallish scar on the left cheek - then several familiar silhouettes stood in between the man and the floodlight.

"That's the last time you'll threaten the city of New York, Marin." Batman's gravelly voice announced with finality. "We found your virus canisters in the Tower Olympia."

"Wait a minute!" Dick exclaimed, the name and the man's alias suddenly clicking in his head. "Marin as in Robert Marin? AKA Master of the Games, inventor of the Gladiatorial Arena? The game where people bet on who wins between two previously chosen gladiators?"

"The same." Batman confirmed.

"Then all this-this getting the custom virus, challenging me to a fight; this is all for a _game_?"

"Not just any game!" Marin sputtered, his fist slamming onto the desk again. "This would have been the ultimate spectator sport! Superheroes fighting to the death! The final confrontation between arch-enemies! People would pay _millions_ just for a glimpse of the battle!" Marin's tone turned darker. "And all I had to do was to make you all willing to kill; starting with the youngest." He gave Dick a sneer that was creepy enough to bring the Joker to mind. "I had to wonder, how far would a hero be willing to go to protect his children from physical and emotional trauma? Far enough to _kill_ for them?"

One of the shadowed figures in the back came forward, her curves and a glint of gold telling Dick who she was. She stood over the seated form of Marin, her commanding presence drawing all the attention to her.

"That is enough," Wonder Woman declared, "We are warriors, but we do not take lives for sport."


	18. Damian Final

Notes: In which I bring up some loose end from 'Brotherhood' :) Oh, and I made a mistake. Apparently the revelation of Damian's plan is in this chapter -_- Me and my swiss-cheese of a memory.

Bethlovesall: Conclusion's right here! ;D

Hybryda: Yeah, Damie will have to make up for scaring his big bro hehehe.

Mirror's Mirage: The hints aren't so obvious about the Games Master being a fake, actually. Damie was narrating about the man's too green eyes and too perfect teeth. Also, during the fight, the Games Master wasn't sweating as much as Damie was :) I wanted to make it seem like a real person but only when I admitted that it was a golem would readers realize the hints that they were. Guess I'll need to work on that. Wonder Woman's line was pretty much inspired by my playing DCUO - what smooth playtime I could get out of it. As for the out and the twist, aw thanks, though I thought it might have been a 'cowardly' move on my part because I really didn't want Damian to actually kill someone outright. Ah well.

Dextra2: Hey, I don't mind your not reviewing every chapter. I'm happy with whatever reviews I get :)

Reina Grayson: Aaah, next sequel's gonna take some time before I post. I have to finish writing it out first heh. So far though, first chappie's a fight scene hehehe.

jayfeather63: Even if Damie's gonna get a lot of mistrust, everyone's pretty much agreed he cares a lot about Dick. Also, the whole thing about family being important to Dick actually came from Rob Thurman's books. I love her stuff heh.

* * *

Minutes before they were to leave Marin's private dojo where the fight between Damian and the fake took place, the lifeless golem had turned into a large lump of dirt. Loose soil spread around the lump where previously there was a puddle of realistic blood. Similar dried dirt covered Damian's face and stomach.

"I guess he was telling the truth," Kid Flash remarked, warily crouching down to poke at the misshapen lump. "It really is a fake."

"Obviously." Damian said drily. "Why would a villain lie about the fake when speaking the truth would gain him the best result?"

"Speaking of which," Robin strode forward, gripping Damian's shoulder tightly, "We are going to have a talk about what you just did."

Damian returned his brother's partly dismayed, partly furious, but over-all relieved gaze with a blank expression of his own. He will not allow his guilt to show and make his brother disappointed in him. "I had known the opponent was a fake. Does this knowledge not matter?"

"It's not that!" Robin shook his head and was now gripping both the younger's shoulders with both hands. His lithe acrobat frame held steady but Damian could detect slight tremors in the hands holding him tight, could hear the increased heart-rate brought about by a rush of adrenalin and a strong emotional reaction. His brother had been...afraid. For him? Or of him?

Damian reached up and awkwardly patted one of Ro-Richard - for this was his brother and not his colleague - Richard's hands.

"It is...alright, Grayson," he spoke slowly, unfamiliar with the proper words of comfort. He had never trained, never learned how to bring comfort to another and what he knew came from watching Richard himself.

Richard gave him a little shake that barely rattled him. "Don't _ever_ sneak out to fight my battles for me, got it?"

Damian crossed his arms. "T-t. I merely did it to keep you from falling into his trap. I would not let such a coward harm my brother."

"Circumstances aside," Aqualad approached calmly, "I am glad you were able to help your brother."

"Me too." Superboy added.

Kid Flash glanced from the Atlantean to the clone and back to Damian as he protested, "Waitaminit! What _was _your deal with Superboy?"

Robin raised an eyebrow and turned a questioning glance at Damian, to which the younger replied, "Our deal was for me to give Superman a reason to spend time with his clone. In return, Superboy will protect my brother whenever I am not present to watch his back." He tilted his head towards Richard. "Is that not what brothers do? The older takes care of the younger and the younger watches the older's back?"

Richard drew back, waving his hands right and left. "No way! You got it all wrong! The older takes care of the younger and the younger is there to be babied by the older!"

Damian snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, Grayson. I know a hundred ways to incapacitate you right now."

"But if you do that, who will take care of you?"

Damian conceded. "Point."

They rode in the bioship on the trip back to Mount Justice; the awkward silence heavy in the cockpit of the ship. Damian knew the rest of Grayson's team exchanged a mental discussion by their faces and hand gestures. Grayson though, either didn't have much to say or kept his face neutral by force of will because he merely stared at Damian the whole journey back. As for Damian...he refused to acknowledge that they were talking about him while he was there. He had much to think about.

He hadn't meant to reveal his confidential deal with the clone so early. But he couldn't allow any suspicion to fall on either him or the clone - it would only serve to make his brother's protection more difficult than necessary. Damian had arranged for his brother to be watched over, not to be thrown into harm's way thanks to annoying teammates.

"Debriefing in ten." Batman's command echoed through the hangar as soon as they stepped out of the bioship.

"Great," Kid Flash groaned. "We're going to get chewed out, aren't we? And we didn't even have to _do _anything."

"True," Damian agreed, "all you did was stand around and be an obstruction."

"Hey! At least we didn't-"

"You guys go ahead!" Robin cut in, dragging Damian to an unused storage room by the arm. "I just need to talk with my little brother for a bit."

Aqualad nodded, "We will explain your delay to Batman."

"What do you mean _we _have to explain-" Kid Flash's protest was cut off when the storage room door slid shut. Robin quickly coded in a lock and a privacy shield before he turned around to face Damian. They both pulled off their eye masks at the same time.

"Damie," Richard sighed, his voice sounding both defeated and hopeful at once, "Promise me you won't do that again. It's my job to watch out for you, not vice versa."

Damian crossed his arms and glanced away.

"Promise me."

Damian refused to meet his brother's eyes. "I cannot."

A heavy sigh. "Why not?"

"Because," Damian drooped, all at once feeling the numbness he'd felt all those months back. He had forcefully forgotten that feeling in the recent months, and only Grayson's cheerful personality had helped. But now, when he first saw the fear and worry on his brother's face, that numbness had come racing back until he was nearly drowning. But Grayson was waiting for an explanation, and perhaps...he owed his brother one. "The day you were locked in my cell, do you remember?"

"Of course, I remember." Richard said softly. "What about it?"

"That was the day I overheard my grandfather's plans for his resurrection." He took a deep breath. Saying it out loud was as difficult as hearing those same words. "He was going to use my body as his new vessel."

"_What!_"

"And I was going to let him."

A stunned silence fell over the room. Damian glanced up to find his brother's anguished face, mouth opening and closing as he strangled out, "Why?"

Damian clenched his eyes in remembered rage and fear. But he forced himself to continue because he couldn't bear to see his brother in distress. "When I awoke and saw you, I thought you were a test: My final evaluation to prove that I was worthy of being my grandfather's vessel. I wanted to make him proud. To give my mother a reason to keep me."

He opened his still dry eyes to meet Grayson's own. Damian had never cried all those years he was training in the League of Assassins' compound. He was trained not to. "But your condition contradicted my assessment. You would have been an easy match for me then. And it would be a poor victory if I were to win against you."

Richard nodded slowly, "And then what?"

Damian dropped his gaze again. "You told me stories. Of you. Of your team. My Father." He tilted his head and looked back up with curiosity. "And you told me how Superboy was created as a weapon, but helped you escape instead. And I decided to imitate him. I felt...I felt that I was not given enough information to make a choice." He relaxed his fists. "I wanted to have a choice between continuing as I am or letting my grandfather slay me."

He was half-expecting the hug. Grayson was always leaping for an excuse to hug him. But unlike previous times, he allowed this one and didn't move to shove his brother away - because that is what he had now: a brother, and a father. And to him, it was enough.


End file.
